Faustian

“It was a Republican president, Ronald Reagan, who issued the ringing challenge to the Soviet Union ‘Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall.’ That party has now been transformed into Russian apologists, more concerned with defending Donald Trump than defending the country. ... They all will have their own justifications that amount to a personal Faustian bargain predicated on the self-delusion that some particular issue or cause is more important than their oath of office.” Stuart Stevens; It Was All a Lie: How the Republican Party Became Donald Trump; Knopf; 2020. “‘It’s always been this Faustian bargain with Trump,’ Dan Eberhart admitted this week.

The chief executive of Canary, a Denver-based drilling services company, had put up with ‘the ridiculousness’ associated with Donald Trump because he also delivered pro-growth policies and low taxes. “Mr Eberhart gave $100,000 to Trump-supporting political committees and helped raise another $600,000 from other donors despite experiencing recriminations ‘all the time’ for supporting a historically divisive president, he said. “But having watched Wednesday’s deadly violence at the Capitol building after the president egged on a mob of supporters, he told the Financial Times: ‘I’m done. I don’t want my mom to think I’m involved with this.’” Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson; US Business Leaders Rue Their ‘Faustian Bargain’ with Trump; Financial Times (London, UK); Jan 8, 2021.